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UNIVERSITY    OF    ILLINOIS    BULLETIN 

Issued  Weekly 
Vol.  XXI  March  10,  1924  No.  28 

[Entered  as  second-class  matter  December  11,  1912,  at  the  post  office  at  Urbana,  Illinois,  under  the 
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EDUCATIONAL  RESEARCH  CIRCULAR  NO.  26 


BUREAU  OF  EDUCATIONAL  RESEARCH 
COLLEGE  OF  EDUCATION 

NOTES  ON  THE  TEACHING  OF 
LATIN  IN  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

by 

H.  J.  Barton 

E.  L.  Clark 

Helen  Pence 

and  Others 


THE  UBRMT  OF  THE 

FEB    7  1925 
yNIVERSlTY  OF  ILLINOIS 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
URBANA 


3  ^0 


Prefatory  Note 


The  material  for  this  circular  was  prepared  under  the 
direction  of  a  committee  appointed  by  the  Latin  section  of 
the  High  School  Conference  held  at  the  University  of  Illinois, 
November,  1922.  The  members  of  the  committee  are  as 
follows : 

Professor  H.  J.  Barton,  University  of  Illinois. 
Miss  Harriet  L.  Bouldin,  Springfield  High  School. 
Miss   Mima   A.   Maxey,   University   of   Chicago   High 

School. 
Mr.  George  A.  Whipple,  Evanston  High  School. 
Miss  Laura  B.  Woodruff,  Chairman,  Oak  Park  High 

School. 

This  circular  relating  to  the  teaching  of  Latin  is  pub- 
lished by  the  Bureau  of  Educational  Research  in  accord  with 
its  general  policy  of  giving  through  its  publications  helpful 
information  and  suggestions  to  teachers  and  school  admin- 
istrators. It  should,  however,  be  understood  that  this  circular 
does  not  represent  the  work  of  the  Bureau  of  Educational 
Research  and  full  credit  for  its  preparation  should  be  given 
to  the  committee  named  above. 

Walter  S.  Monroe,  Director 

Bureau  of  Educational  Research. 
January  9,  1924. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://www.archive.org/details/notesonteachingo26bart 


P       7 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

1 .  TERMINUS  AD  QUEM 7 

By  H.  J.  Barton,  University  of  Illinois 

2.  METHODS    OF    SELECTING    FRESHMEN    AT    NORTHWESTERN    UNI- 
VERSITY          11 

By  E.  L.  Clark,  Northwestern  University 

3.  THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY   IN   ROME 13 

By  Helen  Pence,  Evanston  Township  High  School 

4.  LATIN    PROSE    COMPOSITION 19 

By  Fay  Miller,  Belleville  High  School 

5.  STATE  FAIR  EXHIBITS 21 

By  Harriet  L.  Bouldin,  Springfield  High  School 

6.  NOTES  AND  SUGGESTIONS 22 


Notes  on  the  Teaching  of  Latin  in  High  Schools 

TERMINUS  AD  QUEM 

H.  J.  Barton 

Let  Aristotle  begin. — "The  object  also  which  a  man  sets  before 
him  makes  a  great  difference."  Let  D'Arcy  Thompson  continue.— 
"Diogenes  to  be  busy  like  the  rest  of  his  fellow  citizens  rolled  his 
tub  up  and  down  in  the  market  place."  And  let  Edward  Thring  con- 
clude.—"Before  any  teaching  can  begin,  the  teacher  must  know  what 
has  to  be  taught  and  the  pupil  must  know  that  he  can  get  it." 

And  my  justification  for  these  quotations  is  to  bring  before  our 
teachers  of  Latin,  especially  those  who  are  new  to  the  profession,  the 
necessity  of  having  a  definite  understanding  of  what  they  are  to 
seek,  the  goal,  the  terminus  ad  quern.  It  is  a  conservative  statement 
that  the  average  teacher  of  Latin,  when  beginning  the  work,  is  with- 
out such  a  goal  unless  it  be  to  teach  as  some  favorite  teacher  taught 
or  perhaps  to  finish  such  and  such  a  book  in  a  given  time.  These  are 
goals  to  be  sure  but  poor  ones. 

But  even  so,  instruction  in  first-year  Latin  and  in  other  years 
as  well  has  two  objectives,  although  the  fact  is  not  realized.  The  first 
and  by  far  the  most  stressed  is  mastery  of  grammatical  construc- 
tions; the  second  is  facility  in  translation.  Neither  is  exclusive  but 
the  former,  as  it  first  claims  attention  and  is  moreover  the  easier 
objective,  can  easily  be  so  loved  that  the  teacher  rolls  his  gerund 
stone  up  and  down  in  the  class  room,  day  after  day,  as  Diogenes  did 
his  tub  in  the  streets. 

It  is  a  difficult  matter  to  realize  how  much  time  is  given  to  this 
pastime,  although  we  are  not  as  great  sinners  as  our  fathers  were. 
"Parsing"  they  called  it  and  it  was  considered  all  important.  I  quote 
from  a  text  of  Professor  Harkness. — "In  parsing  a  word,  1.  Name 
the  part  of  speech  to  which  it  belongs.  2.  Inflect  it,  if  capable  of 
inflection.  3.  Give  its  gender,  number,  case,  voice,  mood,  tense,  per- 
son, etc.  4.  Give  its  syntax  and  the  rule  for  it." 

This  program  as  a  whole  should  be  labeled  "A  device  in  retarda- 
tion," that  is,  if  followed  for  any  length  of  time.  With  the  exception 
of  the  requirement  in  the  first  three  words  of  number  four,  there 

[7] 


is  nothing  called  for  that  the  student  has  not  found  out  as  he  has 
translated  the  short  sentence  where  the  form  was  found.  Cui  bono? 
As  to  the  syntax,  there  is  a  reason  since  there  is  no  certainty,  even 
after  a  considerable  time,  that  the  case  syntax  is  understood,  and  the 
same  remark  is  true  of  the  uses  of  the  subjunctive.  But  for  the  rest 
cui  bono?  What  good  to  any  unless  it  is  the  chief  aim  of  the  study 
of  Latin  to  wrap  up  each  word  with  its  proper  label  and  deposit  it  in 
the  proper  file.  A  Latin  recitation  that  centers  around  such  exercises 
has  for  a  very  short  time  the  advantage  of  novelty  but  soon  becomes 
stupid  and  worthless. 

Facility  in  translation  is  the  real  objective,  the  ability  to  read 
with  fair  facility  a  Latin  author  and  to  appropriate  the  Roman  spirit. 
"The  letter  killeth  but  the  spirit  giveth  life."  We  think  of  it  only  in 
the  domain  of  religion  but  it  is  just  as  true  in  acquiring  a  language.  In 
securing  this  facility,  something  of  the  gerund  stone  method  must  be 
employed  now  and  then,  there  will  be  short  excursions  into  English 
so  that  our  students  can  see  that  we  are  still  talking  Latin,  various 
devices  for  arousing  interest  will  be  employed,  we  shall  write  Latin 
but  all  to  the  end  that  we  can  read  Latin,  and  shall  be  careful  not  to 
do  the  Diogenes  act. 

At  this  point  a  lover  of  the  gerund  stone  method  rises  to  ask 
how  this  facility  can  be  acquired  without  much,  yes  very  much  of 
grammatical  drill.  And  the  answer  is  that  there  must  be  a  good  deal 
in  the  aggregate  but  so  judiciously  distributed  as  not  to  squeeze  all 
the  joy  out  of  the  work,  and  in  turn,  I  would  like  to  ask  why  we  are 
so  distrustful  of  the  ability  of  our  students  to  read  simple  connected 
Latin,  after  ten  lessons  spent  in  preparation,  except  the  fact  that  we 
did  not  begin  the  study  that  way. 

And  it  is  a  real  delight  for  a  student,  after  a  few  preparatory 
lessons,  to  read  a  few  pages  of  such  stories  as  the  Bad  Boy,  or  The 
Dirty  Ditch.  Why?  Because  he  feels  that  he  is  getting  somewhere, 
he  is  arriving.  Such  reading  matter  is  not  great  literature  to  be  sure 
but  quite  as  much  in  keeping  with  his  mental  condition  as  extracts 
from  the  Gallic  War. 

Then  our  class  may  prepare  for  another  advance  by  a  few  addi- 
tional lessons,  then  more  stories.  In  this  way  our  young  Romans  are 
acquiring  forms  and  along  with  them,  they  are  experiencing  the  joy 
of  having  these  forms  function  in  the  ability  to  read  Latin.  Again, 
they  are  arriving  at  the  real  goal. 

[8] 


This  should  be,  as  I  see  it,  the  aim  of  all  Latin  teaching.  Doing 
thus,  a  first  year  book,  is  not  something  to  be  completed  in  a  year 
but  one  to  be  used  when  needed.  Some  parts  are  needed  for  the  first 
year,  some  for  the  second,  some  for  the  third,  as  forms  and  construc- 
tions not  previously  learned  are  met.  It  is  an  armory  to  which  we 
go  for  the  weapons  we  need.  But  surely  there  is  no  need  to  put  on 
a  helmet  and  a  breastplate  and  to  grasp  the  pilum  and  strap  on  the 
gladius  to  our  side  when  the  weapons  we  need  are  only  venabula. 

And  there  is  some  danger  that  the  various  devices  lately  intro- 
duced in  Latin  instruction,  our  charts,  our  percentages  of  Latin  living 
again  in  English,  our  pictures,  our  slides,  may  cause  us  to  forget  so 
that  we  will  not  keep  the  terminus  always  in  view.  All  these  devices 
are  excellent,  provided  a  new  incentive  is  given  to  travel  along  the 
via  Latina,  without  stopping  too  long  or  too  often  to  admire  the 
flowers  by  the  way;  there  is  some  danger  that  we  learn  much  about 
Latin  instead  of  learning  to  read  Latin.  Seneca's  advice  is  pertinent, 
"Modum  tenere  debemus." 

And  beyond  this  goal  which  I  have  described  as  "fair  facility" 
in  reading  Latin  comes  in  view  yet  another  terminus  which,  as  Latin 
teachers,  we  should  seek  to  reach.  It  is  the  constantly  increasing 
ability  in  our  students  to  read  Latin  with  ease.  Each  succeeding  year 
ought  to  give  our  young  Romans  a  considerably  larger  facility  in 
this  particular.  "Ease"  is  a  comparative  term.  No  one  pretends,  if 
honest,  that  difficulties  in  translation  should  vanish  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  increased  speed  and  accuracy  should  be  seen  in  our  students 
from  year  to  year.  Some  is  secured  but  not  enough.  Considering  the 
four  years  of  the  high  school  course  as  a  race  track,  after  the  first 
quarter  which  is  expected  to  be  slow,  each  succeeding  quarter  should 
be  faster — a  good  deal  faster  than  the  preceding.  What  is  true  of  the 
high  school  is  also  true  of  the  college.  My  observation  and  experi- 
ence lead  me  to  assert  that  the  gain  in  ability  to  translate,  possessed 
by  college  Juniors  and  Seniors,  is  far  less  than  should  be  expected. 
What  is  the  reason?  It  is  my  hope  that  the  investigations  of  the 
Classical  League  will  give  us  light,  for  I  can  not  for  a  moment,  bring 
myself  to  believe  that  this  is  a  normal  condition.  It  is  my  hope  that 
such  bulletins  as  this  published  by  the  College  of  Education  will 
give  us  help. 

When  the  assignment  for  the  day  has  been  finished,  should  the 
teacher  say, — "Now  we  will  read  at  sight,"  a  look  of  despair  is  the 
usual  reaction.    Why  should  it?    And  is  it  our  fault?    And  has  this 

[9] 


experience  thrown  any  light  on  the  question  raised  of  increased  speed 
with  added  years  of  Latin  study?  A  former  President  of  Illinois 
once  said  to  me, — "The  way  to  learn  how  to  speak  in  public  is  to 
speak  in  public;"  adopting  his  suggestion,  we  might  say  that  the  way 
to  learn  how  to  read  Latin  is  to  read  Latin.  Explaining  this  some- 
what cryptic  remark,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  present  evidence  points 
to  a  much  larger  use  of  sight  reading  as  the  means  to  attain  this 
second  goal.  And  to  reach  both  goals,  we  ought,  with  Ulysses  "to 
strive,  to  seek,  to  find,  and  not  to  yield." 


[10] 


METHODS  OF  SELECTING  FRESHMEN  AT 
NORTHWESTERN  UNIVERSITY 

E.  L.  Clark 

Selection  at  Northwestern  University  is  largely  on  an  experi- 
mental basis.  Effort  is  being  made  to  obtain  and  evaluate  data  by 
which  the  selective  process  may  take  place  before  matriculation,  in- 
stead of  after  it.  We  want  to  avoid  the  wasteful  method  of  taking 
one,  two,  or  even  three  or  four  semesters  of  the  student's  time  to 
ascertain  that  he  is  unqualified  to  profit  sufficiently  by  the  type  of 
college  work  offered  here. 

The  procedure  now  used  is  to  give  all  students  entering  the 
University  for  the  first  time  the  Scott  Company  Mental  Alertness 
Test  as  the  first  step  of  registration.  The  use  of  these  test  scores  is 
stated  by  President  Walter  Dill  Scott  in  a  memorandum  dated  Sep- 
tember 20,  1923.   In  part  President  Scott  says: 

"It  is  the  judgment  of  the  Committee  on  Entrance  that  students 
who  were  in  the  lower  quarter  of  their  class  in  high  school  are  not 
able  to  carry  the  work  of  our  freshman  year.  They  are  of  the  opinion, 
however,  that  certain  high-school  students  are  in  the  lower  quarter 
not  because  of  their  lack  of  ability,  but  because  of  some  such  acci- 
dental circumstances  as  moving,  sickness,  etc.  Accordingly,  appli- 
cants who  are  in  the  lower  quarter  are  required  to  come  in  advance 
and  to  present  evidence  as  to  their  ability  to  carry  the  work  of  our 
freshman  year.  One  factor  in  this  evidence  is  the  ability  to  secure  a 
score  in  the  mental  alertness  test  as  high  as  the  average  of  the  fresh- 
man class  of  last  year. 

"The  mental  alertness  tests  at  Northwestern  are  not  used  to 
eliminate  applicants;  they  are  used  to  select  for  entrance  those  whose 
previous  academic  records  were  not  good,  but  who  are  believed  to 
have  ability  sufficient  to  carry  college  work  satisfactorily." 

Experience  shows  that  below  a  certain  score  no  one  succeeds, 
but  the  percentage  of  students  receiving  this  score  is  small.  The  test 
does  select  those  who  have  almost  no  chance  of  doing  good  work, 
but  it  does  not  tell  with  much  accuracy  those  who  will  do  well  in 
college. 

Much  more  indicative  of  scholastic  success  in  college  is  the  stand- 
ing obtained  in  high  school;  especially  is  this  true  if  the  student  has 

[11] 


attended  one  of  the  large  high  schools  which  furnish  many  of  our 
freshmen.  Students  who  were  in  the  first  quarter  of  their  high-school 
class  almost  never  fall  to  the  fourth  quarter  of  the  college  class  and 
those  who  were  in  the  fourth  quarter  in  high  school  never  rise  to 
first  quarter  in  college.  In  the  Class  of  1923  there  was  only  one  stu- 
dent from  the  fourth  quarter  of  the  high-school  class  who  had  made 
below  average  on  the  mental  test,  who  succeeded  in  graduating,  and 
her  high-school  course  had  been  broken  by  a  change  from  a  small 
country  high  school  to  one  of  the  large  city  schools. 

On  the  basis  of  these  two  factors,  mental  tests  and  high-school 
record,  we  hope  to  be  able  to  eliminate  more  of  the  potential  failures. 
The  old  method  of  depending  entirely  upon  classroom  marks  to  elim- 
inate the  "unfits"  is  too  wasteful. 


[12] 


THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY  IN  ROME 

Helen  Pence 

To  anyone  whose  good  fortune  has  taken  him  to  the  Janiculum 
Hill,  the  highest  point  in  Rome,  especially  on  a  glorious  October  day, 
or  on  one  of  the  indescribably  clear  and  balmy  days  of  an  Italian 
spring,  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  more,  to  insure  an  appreciation  of  the 
beauty  of  the  site  of  the  American  Academy  in  Rome,  than  that  it 
is  on  the  Janiculum,  near  the  Porta  San  Pancrazio,  which  adjoins  the 
ancient  Porta  Aurelia.  There  is  a  superb  view  from  the  Janiculum, 
a  view  starred  in  Baedeker — the  ultimate  test  of  value  to  the  average 
American  traveler.  One  may  see  from  this  one  point  the  Alban  Hills 
to  the  south  and  east,  with  the  lovely  crested  top  of  Monte  Cavo, 
the  Sabine  and  Volscian  Hills  to  the  east  with  the  rugged  peak  of 
Monte  Gennaro,  and  to  the  north,  if  the  day  is  clear,  the  jagged  line 
of  Soracte,  alluring  in  its  charm,  even  though  the  most  ardent  and 
farsighted  classicist  must  admit  its  failure  to  achieve  the  "stet  nive 
candidum"  tradition.  Within  this  circle  of  outlying  hills,  with  the 
stretches  of  open  campagna  at  their  feet,  lies  the  richly  colored  city, 
with  its  palaces  of  warm,  golden  tans,  the  dark  green  cypresses  and 
stone  pines  on  the  Palatine,  the  Aventine,  and  the  Pincian  Hills,  and 
everywhere  glimpses  of  ruins  of  fine  old  Roman  masonry,  whose 
presence  gives  to  Rome  dignity  and  an  enviable  but  inimitable  posi- 
tion among  the  cities  of  the  western  world.  This  is  essentially  the 
view  which  the  student  so  fortunate  as  to  live  in  the  main  Academy 
building  or  in  the  women's  apartment  across  the  way  at  the  beautiful 
Villa  Aurelia,  the  home  of  the  Director  of  the  Academy,  has  con- 
stantly within  his  range  of  vision.  It  is  no  wonder  that  he  suddenly 
realizes  that  the  year  is  over  and  that  the  accomplishments  gleaned 
through  library  research  are  alarmingly  meager. 

Even  the  less  lucky  "visiting  student"  who  generally  lodges  at 
a  great  distance  and  is  more  or  less  at  the  mercy  of  the  Janiculum 
trams  which  run  at  quite  incalculable  intervals,  can  be  consoled,  when 
the  power  suddenly  stops  and  the  car  comes  to  an  abrubt  halt,  by 
the  beauty  of  the  view;  unfortunately  the  frequent  failure  of  the  elec- 
tricity in  the  "lift"  service  of  the  tall  apartment  houses  of  Rome  is 
not  relieved  by  such  compensations  for  the  victim.  When  one  grows 

[13] 


weary  of  the  habits  of  the  tram  and  is  not  prevented  by  the  weather, 
the  climb  up  the  hill  from  that  Trastevere  by  the  shorter  route,  with 
its  secluded  steps,  has  two  glorious  open  places  where  the  view  quite 
justifies  a  pause,  without  the  necessity  of  an  apology  for  one's  lack 
of  breath. 

It  is  quite  possible  to  glean  definite  and  interesting  facts  about 
the  American  Academy  in  Rome  from  the  compact  little  bulletin 
published  annually  by  the  office  in  New  York  (101  Park  Avenue), 
but  since  there  are  few  people  who  actually  do  send  for  catalogues 
and  bulletins,  in  spite  of  good  intentions,  perhaps  a  few  details  about 
the  working  of  the  School  itself  may  not  be  out  of  place.  The  Amer- 
ican School  of  Classical  Studies  was  founded  in  1895  as  a  separate 
institution,  and  not  until  1913  did  it  become  a  part  of  the  group  now 
known  under  the  name  of  the  American  Academy  in  Rome,  a  com- 
bination of  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  (Sculpture,  Painting,  Architec- 
ture, Music,  Landscape  Gardening)  and  the  School  of  Classical 
Studies.  The  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  does  not  itself  offer  a  course  of 
study,  but  the  lectures  and  trips  of  the  School  of  Classical  Studies 
are  open  to  the  Fellows  of  the  Fine  Arts  School  and  many  of  the  lec- 
tures, especially  those  given  by  the  invited  lecturers  from  outside, 
are  planned  to  meet  the  needs  and  interests  of  both  schools. 

In  the  School  of  Classical  Studies  two  Fellowships  are  offered 
annually,  the  conditions  for  competition  being  clearly  stated  in  the 
annual  announcement  of  the  school.  Those  who  attend  at  their  own 
expense  and  do  the  regular  work  of  the  school,  are  popularly  known 
as  "visiting  students,"  and  are  subject  to  definite  eligibility  require- 
ments. They  are  "expected  to  have  at  least  a  bachelor's  degree  from 
an  approved  American  university  or  college,  or  an  equivalent  degree 
from  a  foreign  institution  of  learning."  Moreover,  as  in  American 
graduate  departments  in  the  classics,  they  should  have  "the  ability 
to  read  ordinary  Greek  and  Latin  prose  at  sight  and  to  use  French 
and  German  as  instruments  of  research."  And  to  those  who  wish  to 
do  research  in  Italian  Archaeology,  an  elementary  knowledge  of 
Italian,  which  the  bulletin  refers  to  as  "very  useful,"  might  almost 
be  called  essential,  since  all  the  reports  of  the  excavations  made  by 
the  Italian  government  are  available  to  the  student  only  through 
a  reading  knowledge  of  Italian,  and  since  much  unpublished  infor- 
mation, obtainable  only  through  lectures  or  through  conversation  with 
the  Italian  specialists  themselves,  depends  upon  a  moderate  under- 
standing of  spoken  Italian.   It  is  only  fair  to  add  that,  far  from  in- 

[14] 


creasing  the  burden  of  the  year's  work,  this  study  of  Italian  and  its 
constant  use  in  reading  and  conversation  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
and  pleasurable  features  of  a  year  in  Italy,  and  does  more  than  any 
other  single  factor  to  give  one  an  insight  into  the  character  and  his- 
tory of  the  Italian  people. 

There  are  a  number  of  colleges  and  universities  in  America 
which  contribute  annually  #250  each,  toward  the  support  of  the 
school,  and  the  student  who  is  so  fortunate  as  to  come  from  one  of 
these  contributing  colleges  is  exempt,  as  are  also  the  Fellows,  from 
the  annual  tuition  charge  of  #100.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that,  up 
to  the  present  time,  the  names  of  only  three  state  universities,  Cali- 
fornia, Michigan,  and  Wisconsin,  appear  upon  this  list  of  about 
twenty-five  schools,  and  this  condition  is  reflected  in  both  student 
and  faculty  lists.  The  school  is  deserving  of  better  support  from 
American  state  institutions.  The  library  collection,  housed  in  a  room 
of  exquisite  design,  is  excellently  selected  in  view  of  the  limited  funds 
available,  but  is  inadequate  for  the  needs  of  intensive  research  and 
is  in  need  of  additional  contributions. 

The  student  living  quarters  of  the  Academy  (for  men,  in  the 
large  main  building,  and  for  women,  in  one  wing  of  the  Villa  Aurelia) 
are  limited,  being  designed  to  accommodate  only  the  Fellows  of  both 
schools,  but  if  there  happens  to  be  extra  space,  an  occasional  visiting 
student  is  accommodated  on  the  grounds,  the  preference  being  given 
ordinarily  to  those  who  hold  Fellowships  from  individual  American 
colleges.  A  pleasant  and  convenient  arrangement  has  been  made  this 
year  whereby  non-resident  visiting  students  may  be  served  luncheon 
in  the  Academy  dining  rooms. 

The  program  of  instruction  varies  from  year  to  year  because 
of  the  large  variable  element  in  the  make-up  of  the  faculty.  At  pres- 
ent the  Professor-in-charge  of  the  School  of  Classical  Studies  is 
appointed  for  only  one  year,  but  there  is  a  movement  on  foot  to 
make  this  a  permanent  appointment,  as  is  the  scheme  in  the  Ameri- 
can School  in  Athens.  There  is  another  annual  professorship,  and 
both  of  these  positions  are  usually  held  by  professors  on  leave  of 
absence  from  American  institutions.  For  the  year  1922-1923,  Pro- 
fessor Tenney  Frank,  Ph.D.,  of  Johns  Hopkins  University,  was 
Professor-in-charge,  and  for  the  present  year,  1923-1924,  Professor 
John  Carew  Rolfe,  Ph.D.,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  holds 
the  position.  The  annual  professorship  was  held  last  year  by  Pro- 
fessor Grant  Showerman  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  who  had 

[15] 


been  at  the  Academy  the  previous  year  as  a  visiting  professor,  and 
who  this  past  summer,  1923,  was  Director  of  the  first  Academy 
Summer  School;  this  year  it  is  held  by  Dr.  Louis  E.  Lord  of  Oberlin 
College.  There  are  also  two  permanent  professorships  occupied  at 
present  by  Professor  C.  Densmore  Curtis,  Associate  Professor  of 
Archaeology  and  Editor  of  Publications  of  the  Academy,  and  Pro- 
fessor Albert  W.  Van  Buren,  Librarian  and  Associate  Professor  of 
Archaeology. 

Travel  in  Italy,  done  for  the  most  part  under  the  general  super- 
vision of  the  Academy,  is,  with  the  exception  of  the  work  in  the 
topography  of  Rome,  the  part  of  the  program  which  usually  has  the 
greatest  appeal  to  the  student  whose  constitution  and  equipment  are 
equal  to  the  strain  of  rough  travel  and  often  inclement  weather.  In 
the  autumn  and  early  winter  there  are  almost  weekly  excursions  to 
the  historic  sites  of  Latium  and  Etruria,  under  the  direct  supervision 
of  Academy  professors.  Last  year  Academy  trips  were  made  to  the 
Aqueducts  and  the  Appian  Way,  the  Alban  Hills  and  lakes,  Lanuvium, 
Ostia,  Palestrina,  and  to  Corneto,  Cerveteri,  and  Veii  in  Etruria;  and  in 
addition  to  these  main  excursions  other  expeditions  were  made  by 
smaller  groups  to  Segni,  Velletri,  Civita  Castellana  and  Soracte, 
Nepi,  Sutri,  Viterbo,  Tusculum,  Tivoli,  Subiaco,  Capua,  Benevento. 
Early  in  March,  those  whose  fortitude  had  been  tried  and  proved 
achieved  two  trips  requiring  the  greatest  possible  endurance  in  both 
lungs  and  shoes,  the  expedition  to  Cori,  Norba,  and  Ninfa,  and  the 
ascent  of  Monte  Gennaro  (4170  feet),  with  a  descent  almost  as 
tortuous  but  made  delightful  by  the  vistas  of  the  lovely  valley  of  the 
Licenza,  the  so-called  site  of  the  Sabine  farm  of  Horace.  The  atti- 
tude of  the  American  student  toward  the  conveniences  of  travel,  in 
the  course  of  a  year  of  chiefly  third-class  travel  in  Italy,  goes  through 
the  subtlest  changes.  One  begins  with  a  slightly  supercilious  and 
contemptuous  air  and  an  almost  uncontrollable  longing  for  American 
Pullmans  and  diners,  and  one  ends  by  choosing,  when  there  is  a 
choice,  third-class  compartments,  with  their  benches  of  honest  wood, 
shared  with  friendly  Italian  peasants,  always  so  frankly  curious  and 
naively  entertaining.  Nor  are  we  the  only  observers.  As  we  returned 
by  train  one  night  from  one  of  our  rough  walking  trips,  our  shoes 
covered  with  mud,  we  heard  a  peasant  say  in  Italian  which  he  sup- 
posed we  did  not  understand:  "They  are  Americans — they  always 
go  everywhere  on  foot,  and  always  laugh." 


[16] 


The  climax  of  the  school  year  is  the  trip  to  Greece  which  comes 
in  the  spring  when  the  winter  program  of  the  School  of  Classical 
Studies  is  over.  The  air  is  full  of  the  bustle  of  preparation,  and  last 
year  the  excitement  was  increased  by  vague,  mysterious  rumors, 
constantly  whispered  about,  of  the  typhus  epidemic  in  Greece  and  of 
the  necessary  or  advisable  preventives.  The  bolder  spirits  were  not 
terrified  by  these  rumors,  nor  by  the  official  warnings  of  prospective 
hardships,  and  submitted  with  Spartan  courage  to  the  inoculation- 
vaccination  ordeal,  the  rigid  prerequisite  of  the  coming  expedition. 
The  expenses  of  the  trip  last  year  were  remarkably  small,  due  in 
part  to  the  extremely  advantageous  rate  of  exchange,  and  in  part  to 
the  reduction  in  rates  possible  in  party  travel  managed  upon  a 
cooperative  basis.  The  spring  program  of  travel  usually  includes  a 
visit  of  two  weeks  to  Naples  and  Pompeii,  and  last  year  a  stop  at 
Taranto  broke  the  journey  from  Naples  to  Brindisi,  our  point  of 
embarkation  for  Greece.  The  sail  from  Brindisi  to  Patras  by  the 
Greek  steamer  takes  about  thirty  hours  and  one  is  apt  to  reach  the 
harbor  in  the  early  morning  and  be  forced  to  land  before  dawn. 
Consequently  it  is  in  a  very  dull  and  sleepy  state  that  one  is  likely 
to  experience  the  anticipated  thrill  of  touching  the  soil  of  Greece. 

The  party  last  year,  under  the  guidance  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  went 
from  Patras  to  Olympia  by  train,  and  after  spending  two  days  at 
Olympia  went,  again  by  train,  to  Kalamata.  Here  the  party  divided, 
some  going  by  train  and  automobile  to  Sparta,  others  on  foot  over 
the  mountains,  through  the  beautiful  Langada  Gorge.  After  a  day 
at  Sparta  and  the  quaintly  picturesque  hill  town  of  Mistra,  we  pro- 
ceeded to  Nauplia,  by  way  of  Tegea,  and  from  Nauplia  made  expe- 
ditions to  Tiryns,  Epidaurus,  Argos,  and  Mycenae.  From  Mycenae 
our  route  took  us  to  Corinth,  where  we  stopped  for  a  night  and  spent 
the  following  morning  climbing  Aero-Corinth  and  studying  the  ruins 
of  old  Corinth.  The  train  journey  from  Corinth  to  Athens  is  over 
a  route  of  exquisite  beauty,  across  the  canal  bridge,  along  the  Isthmus, 
and  around  the  Bay  of  Salamis.  There  is  no  need  to  enumerate  the 
delights  of  a  stay  in  Athens.  The  courtesy  and  hospitality  of  the 
faculty  and  students  of  the  American  School  in  Athens  added  much 
to  our  comfort  and  pleasure,  and  the  value  and  interest  of  the  work 
in  Greek  Archaeology  was  enhanced  by  the  stimulating  lectures  of 
Mr.  Hill  and  Mr.  Holland  of  the  American  School,  on  the  Acropolis, 
and  of  Mr.  Blegen  of  the  American  School  and  Mr.  Wace  of  the 
British  School,  at  the  National  Museum.  The  stay  in  Athens,  about 

[17] 


ten  days  in  all,  was  broken  after  the  first  week  by  two  glorious  days 
at  Delphi.  Here  the  Academy  party  broke  up  into  smaller  groups, 
some  going  to  Thessaly,  some  returning  directly  to  Athens,  but  the 
greater  number  going  on  foot  over  the  mountains  through  Arachova 
into  Boeotia,  whence  after  stopping  one  night  at  Livadia  and  spend- 
ing a  morning  at  Chaeronea  and  Orchomenos,  they  returned  to 
Athens  for  a  final  visit  of  three  days  before  sailing  for  Brindisi  from 
Piraeus.  Our  preliminary  warning  of  hardships  to  come  was  quite 
justified,  and  yet  Greece  gains  a  subtle  hold  upon  the  traveler  which 
can  make  him  forget  such  inconvenient  and  unpleasant  things  as  the 
slow  and  jerky  trains,  the  miserable  hotels,  and  the  scarcity  of  water, 
and  remember  only  the  loveliness  and  color,  "the  stony  hills  and 
salt  Corinthian  blue." 

The  advantages  which  the  Academy  offers  to  the  teacher  of  the 
classics  seem  fairly  obvious  and  are  quite  generally  admitted  without 
argument,  but  what  is  not  so  commonly  considered  and  yet  seems  to 
me  quite  as  obvious,  is  the  tremendous  stimulus  it  affords  to  the 
teacher  of  history.  The  Academy  needs  no  advertising  among  those 
at  all  familiar  with  its  scope,  method,  and  results,  but  it  is  only 
through  the  hearty  cooperation  of  American  colleges  and  universities 
that  its  active  influence  can  be  continued  and  increased. 


[18] 


LATIN  PROSE  COMPOSITION 

Fay  Miller 

Latin  composition  in  the  first  year  seems  to  me  a  simple  subject 
because  I  know  so  few  ways  of  teaching.  I  should  like  to  be  told 
many  more.  The  one  wrong  way,  I  should  think,  would  be  to  correct 
papers  prepared  outside  of  class,  thus  encouraging  copying.  A  good 
method,  but  one  that  cannot  be  used  every  time  because  of  the 
burden  of  correcting  it  lays  upon  the  teacher,  is  to  have  the  pupils 
copy  the  translated  sentences  on  the  board  from  their  papers,  give 
attention  while  the  class  corrects  the  mistakes,  and  then,  without 
assistance  from  book  or  paper,  write  in  Latin  a  revised  version  pre- 
pared by  the  teacher.  These  changed  sentences,  of  course,  illustrate 
the  same  constructions  and  employ  the  same  vocabulary  as  the 
original  ones.  Another  method  is  to  write  the  English  sentences  on 
the  board  before  class  and  have  the  pupils  add  the  Latin  translation. 
A  few  pupils,  however,  by  some  remarkable  gift  of  remembering 
nonsense  syllables,  can  make  one  hundred  on  such  a  recitation  with- 
out understanding  the  work  at  all.  In  addition  to  the  sentences,  our 
book  gives  questions  to  be  answered,  and  some  suggestions  for  orig- 
inal work  to  be  translated  in  class  by  other  pupils. 

In  teaching  Cicero  I  am  much  in  need  of  help.  Does  any  one 
know  of  a  composition  book  in  which  the  order  of  constructions  is 
based  on  the  needs  of  the  pupils  instead  of  on  what  the  author  con- 
siders the  logical  arrangement?  Upon  beginning  Cicero  my  pupils 
need  some  lessons  on  constructions  rarely  occurring  in  Caesar,  such 
as  conditions,  but  the  course  of  study  requires  that  they  have  a 
series  of  lessons  on  uses  of  the  genitive  and  ablative  that  never  have 
bothered  them  in  translation.  We  have  no  rest  from  Cicero  and 
Catiline  for  the  lessons  are  based  on  the  text.  Isn't  that  both  a 
source  of  boredom  and  a  death  blow  to  literary  appreciation?  The 
pupils'  work  is  on  the  very  same  subject  as  Cicero's,  and  I  strongly 
suspect  that  they  think  it  is  inferior  to  his  only  in  point  of  length. 
There  is  a  possibility  of  relief:  the  quiz  on  the  fifth  and  last  day  of 
composition  week  may  be  in  the  form  of  a  story.  This  must  be  told 
in  such  a  way  that  it  contains  several  examples  of  the  constructions 
taught  during  the  week.      The   pupils   are   told   any  words   which 

[19] 


they  have  not  had.  One  may  get  ideas  for  stories  from  such 
books  as  Collar's  "Gradatim,"  Nutting's  "Reader,"  and  D'Ooge's 
"Easy  Latin  for  Sight  Reading."  This  occasional  use  of  a  narrative 
is  partly  for  the  purpose  of  pleasing  the  pupils,  but  largely  for  the 
sake  of  amusing  the  teacher. 


[20] 


STATE  FAIR  EXHIBITS 

Harriet  L.  Bouldin 

No  one  could  pass  through  the  educational  exhibit  at  the  State 
Fair  held  at  Springfield,  September,  1923,  without  realizing  that  the 
aims  and  methods  of  teaching  high-school  subjects  have  changed  in 
recent  years. 

The  Latin  departments  of  the  Decatur  and  Springfield  High 
Schools  were  represented  there  this  year.  In  the  Decatur  exhibit  a 
definite  color  scheme  was  carried  out,  and  this  was  especially  effec- 
tive in  the  Latin  display.  Beautifully  colored  pictures  were  mounted 
on  cardboard  and  below  each  was  a  description  written  in  Latin. 
This  was  original  composition  work.  Small  posters  and  charts  showed 
the  relation  of  Latin  to  other  subjects.  A  number  of  Latin  notebooks 
representing  each  year  of  the  course  were  shown. 

Springfield  had  large  posters  grouped  carefully  to  attract  the 
attention  of  visitors.  They  represented  original  work  on  the  part  of 
the  pupils.  The  value  of  Latin  in  gaining  a  knowledge  of  English 
was  made  clear  by  various  derivative  work,  posters  and  cartoons. 
Other  posters  showed  the  relation  of  Latin  words  to  terms  in  science, 
mathematics,  and  music.  One  large  poster,  made  by  one  of  the  Vergil 
pupils,  represented  the  journey  of  Aeneas  through  the  Underworld. 

Springfield  won  first  place  in  the  educational  exhibit  and  first 
place  in  the  high-school  exhibit.  The  Latin  teachers  felt  that  they  had 
helped  to  win  the  favorable  decision  of  the  judges.  They  are  already 
planning  for  a  more  extensive  exhibit  next  fall. 

Why  should  not  the  Latin  departments  of  fully  a  dozen  high 
schools  send  in  exhibits  next  year?  Thousands  of  people  visit  the 
State  Fair  annually  and  a  large  number  of  them  attend  the  educa- 
tional exhibit.   Here  is  a  chance  to  advertise  our  goods. 


[21] 


NOTES  AND  SUGGESTIONS 

Two  Latin  Dialogues 

The  following  dialogues  taken  with  the  author's  permission  from 
Professor  D'Ooge's  "Colloquia  Latina"  published  by  D.  C.  Heath 
and  Co.,  may  prove  interesting  for  Latin  Club  programs: 

ANCILLA  ET  CASSIUS 

Cassius.  (Ante  ianuam)    Salve!    Salve! 

Ancilla.  Quis  ante  ianuam  est? 

Cassius.  Cassius  sum,  amicus  probus  domini  boni.    Estne  dominus  domi? 

Ancilla.  Dominus  domi  non  est,  sed  in  horto  ambulat. 

Cassius.  Me  miserum!    Estne  hortus  procul? 

Ancilla.  Ita  est,  et  via  longa  est  et  ardua. 

Cassius.  Ambulatne  solus  in  horto? 

Ancilla.  Non  solus,  sed  cum  puero  Carolo  ambulat. 

Cassius.  Sine  dubio,  hortus  pulcher  est. 

Ancilla.  Sane,  et  rosarum  plenus  est.    Nonne  rosas  amas? 

Cassius.  Valde  rosas  rubras  amo. 

Ancilla.  Eccam  rosam  rubram  quae  est  ex  domini  horto!    (Rosam  Cassio  dat.) 

Cassius.  Ago  tibi  gratias.   Vale. 

FRATER  ET  SORORCULA 

Sororcula.  Fuistine  in  ludo,  mi  f rater,  hodie? 

Frater.  Sane  fui,  mea  sororcula. 

Sororcula.  Magister,  credo,  morosus  erat. 

Frater.  Minime.    Numquam  morosus  est,  benignus  semper,  atque  hodie  fabu- 

lam  gratam  discipulis  narravit. 
Sororcula.  Itane?   Mihi,  care  frater,  fabulam  narra.   Fruitne  de  leone? 
Frater.  Minime  vero,  sed  de  Iulio  Caesare  populi  Romani  claro  imperatore. 
Sororcula.  Nonne  Caesar  bella  proeliaque  amavit? 
Frater.  Amavit,  neque  Germanos  timebat. 
Sororcula.  Sine  dubio,  fuit  malus  vir. 
Frater.  Erravisti,  mea  sororcula;  hostibus  quidem  malus  erat,  sed  bonus  amicis. 

Multis  et  magnis  proeliis  Galliam  totam  superavit  et  deinde 

Sororcula.  Haec  fabula  me  non  delectat.    Narra,  amabo  te,  de  leone. 
Frater.  Sero  est.   Postea  de  leone  narrabo.   Optime  vale! 

Word  Ancestry1 

There  are  some  long  words  the  ordinary  meaning  of  which 
almost  every  one  knows,  and  one  of  these  is  "opportunity,"  but  I 
venture  to  say  that  not  every  one  knows  the  real  meaning  of  this 
word. 


'By  Willis  A.  Ellis,  published  in  the  Chicago  Daily  News. 

[22] 


"Portus,"  in  Latin,  means  "port,"  "harbor."  "Ob"  means  "in 
front  of."  "Opportunus"  means  "ready  to  enter  the  harbor."  It  is 
not  difficult  to  see  how  "opportunity"  means  an  advantageous  situa- 
tion or  favorable  conditions — those  that  will  enable  us  to  enter  our 
desired  port,  to  accomplish  what  we  are  aiming  at. 

A  successful  candidate  for  office  is  likely  to  be  "importuned"  by 
his  political  followers  for  the  "jobs"  which  he  controls.  To  importune 
is  to  beg  insistently,  to  the  point  of  making  oneself  a  nuisance.  A 
person  who  is  advantageously  situated,  for  whom  conditions  are  op- 
portune, does  not  need  to  importune.  One  who  is  reduced  to  the 
necessity  of  becoming  importunate  in  his  efforts  to  gain  his  wishes 
may  be  said  to  be  "out  of  luck" — he  is  not  in  front  of  his  harbor, 
ready  to  sail  in. 

Membership  in  the  Classical  Association  of  the 
Middle  West  and  South 

If  you  do  not  belong  to  the  "Classical  Association  of  the  Middle 
West  and  South,"  join  at  once  by  sending  your  name  and  address, 
with  the  yearly  membership  fee  of  $2.00,  to  W.  L.  Carr,  Oberlin 
College,  Oberlin,  Ohio. 

Membership  in  this  Association  will  stimulate  your  enthusiasm 
and  increase  your  power  as  a  teacher  of  Latin  by  identifying  you 
with  your  co-workers  in  the  same  field  and  by  bringing  to  you  each 
month  "The  Classical  Journal,"  which  is  always  full  of  live  interest 
and  helpful  suggestions.  None  of  us  can  afford  to  miss  such  advan- 
tages. 

The  Classical  Weekly 

Any  who  are  interested  in  "The  Classical  Weekly,"  which  is 
published  by  the  Classical  Association  of  the  Atlantic  States,  may 
receive  the  same  by  sending  $2.00  to  Professor  Charles  Knapp,  1737 
Sedgwick  Avenue,  New  York  City. 

Art  and  Archaeology 

"Art  and  Archaeology,"  an  illustrated  monthly  magazine  pub- 
lished by  the  Archaeological  Society  of  Washington,  is  $5.00  a  year. 
All  correspondence  should  be  addressed  and  all  remittances  made  to 
Art  and  Archaeology,  the  Octagon,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Service  Bureau  for  Classical  Teachers 

The  American  Classical  League  has  established  at  Teachers 
College,  Columbia  University,  New   York,   a  "Service   Bureau  for 

[23] 


Classical  Teachers."  This  step  has  been  made  possible  by  a  special 
fund  granted  to  the  League  and  by  the  financial  assistance  of  Teach- 
ers College.  The  work  is  in  charge  of  Miss  Frances  Sabin,  formerly 
Assistant  Professor  of  Latin  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin.  She  will 
be  aided  by  an  informal  committee  of  cooperating  teachers  and 
other  persons  throughout  the  country  who  are  interested  in  the  suc- 
cess of  the  undertaking. 

The  aim  of  such  a  professional  center  is  to  serve  as  a  clearing 
house  for  the  exchange  of  ideas  on  the  teaching  of  Latin  and  Greek 
in  the  secondary  schools.  The  activities  which  will  be  associated  with 
it  may  be  roughly  classified  under  the  following  heads: 

(1)  Collecting  and  arranging  in  a  form  suitable  for  purposes  of 
inspection  and  study  such  material  as  may  prove  of  value 
to  classical  teachers  and  other  persons  interested  in  the 
study  of  the  classics  in  the  secondary  schools. 

(2)  Distributing  certain  parts  of  the  material  listed  above. 

(3)  Conducting  a  Correspondence  Department  for  an  exchange 
of  ideas  in  general  with  teachers,  principals,  superintend- 
ents, and  other  persons  who  are  interested  in  the  work  of 
the  Bureau. 

Since  the  enterprise  is  cooperative  in  its  nature,  it  is  necessary: 
for  the  director  to  enlist  the  active  cooperation  of  classical  teachers. 
The  Outline  which  follows  indicates  specific  projects  in  connection 
with  which  the  Service  Bureau  needs  immediate  help.  All  teachers 
are  urged  to  participate  in  the  preparation  of  material  as  suggested, 
or  in  any  other  undertaking  which  seems  equally  important  in  equip- 
ping the  files. 

Faulty  Translation 

Do  your  pupils  translate  Caesar  after  the  following  fashion? 
Professor  Lane  of  Harvard  once  said  that  this  would  be  the  result  if 
the  average  freshman  in  college  were  asked  to  translate  a  Latin  ver- 
sion of  the  story  of  George  Washington  and  the  cherry  tree: 

CONCERNING  A  YOUTH  WHO  WAS  UNABLE  TO  LIE 
Being  the  story  of  George  Washington,  translated  from  the  Latin: 
A  certain  father  of  a  family  to  whom  there  was  a  sufficiently  large  farm, 
moreover  a  son  in  whom  he  especially  rejoiced,  gave  this  one  for  a  gift  on  his  birth- 
day a  little  axe.  He  exhorted  him  greatly  to  use  the  weapon  with  the  highest  care, 
lest  it  might  be  for  a  detriment  to  himself.  The  youth  promised  himself  to  be 
about  to  obey. 

[24] 


When  it  was  necessary  for  that  one,  on  account  of  business,  to  seek  a  certain 
walled  town  situated  not  far,  this  one,  the  axe  having  been  hastily  seized,  departs 
into  the  garden,  about  to  cut  down  each  most  flourishing  cherry  tree. 

That  one,  his  home  having  been  resought,  inflamed  with  wrath,  the  servants 
being  called  together,  asked  who  might  have  been  the  author  of  this  so  much 
slaughter.  All  were  denying,  when  this  one,  running  up  to  that  one,  "Truly,  by 
Hercules,"  said  he,  "0,  my  father,  I  am  unable  to  lie;  I,  myself,  cut  down  the  tree 
with  that  little  axe  which  thou  gavest  to  me  for  a  present." 

An  Exercise  in  Forms 

After  a  short  drill  in  first  declension,  the  teacher  of  a  beginning 
Latin  class  said,  "Now  let  us  decline  the  Latin  words  meaning  'a  long 
island'  in  such  a  way  that  each  one  called  upon  will  give  the  word 
or  syllable  following  the  one  last  given  by  the  preceding  pupil." 

Kathryn.  insula  longa 

insu  - 
Mary.  -  lae  longae 

insulae  longae 
John.         insulam  longam 

insula 
Robert.  -        longa 

Emily.       insulae  longae 
Winifred,  insularum   longarum 

insulis 
Walter.  -        longis 

insulas  longas 
Charles,  insulis  longis 
Jane.  (who  had  been  sitting  on  the  edge  of  her  chair  and  listening  eagerly). 

O,  let's  do  it  some  more. 

The  Calends,  Nones  and  Ides 

The  three  following  jingles  are  helpful: 

In  March,  July,  October,  and  May 
The  Nones  are  on  the  seventh  day. 

In  March,  October,  July,  and  May 

The  Ides  come  on  the  fifteenth  day, 

The  Nones,  the  seventh, 

All  else  besides 

Have  two  days  less  for  Nones  and  Ides. 

In  March,  July,  October,  May, 
Nones  are  the  seventh,  Ides,  the  fifteenth  day; 
In  other  months  they  two  days  earlier  fall. 
The  month's  first  day  the  Romans  Calends  call, 
And  one,  then  backward  count,  and  you  will  find 
The  date  as  offered  to  the  Roman  mind. 


[25] 


V 


